If your were about to set sail on a long voyage, would you make enemies with the crew and kick a hole in the ship before you go?

As a soon-to-be bride myself, I have a few opinions about what a wedding should and shouldn’t be…

I believe a wedding should be:

• A celebration of the bride and groom and of their families, traditions, shared values, and cultures. I realize this is controversial to many brides who use the term “my day” to describe their wedding, but just to make the distinction, a wedding really is about the joining of two families to make a new one.
• A joyful and humble groundbreaking ceremony for what is to be built in the future…the beautiful new thing created by the combination of the best of both people. A reverent passing from just a “couple” of individuals to a marriage… A new, strong limb in a big old family tree.

A wedding shouldn’t be:

• A battle of wills between the bride and her soon-to-be in-laws.
• An expression to all friends, neighbors, and acquaintances of how wealthy, special, or better than everyone else the bride/couple/family is. Ever notice how tacking the term “wedding” on to anything automatically doubles its cost? The extra cost is due to all the marketing “wedding” companies do to convince brides that they are supposed to be “princesses” and that money is no object on “their special day.” A lot of them are just creating more stuff that will end up in landfills… (P.S. Money is the #1 cause of fighting in modern marriages — racking up a budget-crushing debt for your wedding is more than just a bad idea, it can ruin a marriage before it has even begun!)
• A backyard pig-pickin’ with a keg of beer. (Sorry, Honey. I love you, but that’s probably a little too casual to incorporate my family’s traditions. :) LOL)

Without the “shouldn’t be’s” listed above, the WETV reality show “Bridezillas” wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining (Did she just say “We’re getting married my way, I own your A**” to the groom? Oh boy…) but for a real-life marriage that’s built to last, that’s probably not the best way to get started.

So what does this have to do with being crafty? Creative people spend a lot of time thinking about the meaning of things because we know the messages things send can be powerful. When planning your wedding, this is definitely something to think about.  Just like a vision board can help you visualize your dreams and make them real, crafting a wedding full of meaningful, handmade items that celebrate the past, the future and the union of two families can be a wonderful way to visualize the happy marriage you hope to have.

Here is a list of a few handmade wedding craft ideas you might want to incorporate in your celebration.

Bon Voyage!